What Is Life? by Augusta GaskellTransactions of the American Microscopical Society, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Jan., 1929), pp. 118-119Published by: Wiley on behalf of American Microscopical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3222467 .

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DEPARTMENT OF METHODS AND REVIEWS DEPARTMENT OF METHODS AND REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

THE FRESH WATER MOLLUSCA OF WISCONSIN, PART I. GASTROPODA; PART II. PELECYPODA, by Frank Collins Baker. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin 70. 1928.

In two volumes totaling more than a thousand pages the Wisconsin Academy has brought forth the most comprehensive piece of work on fresh water mollusca that has appeared for any region on this continent. Frank C. Baker, the author of this monograph, has given a biological ori- entation to his materials which stands in marked contrast with the older conchological contributions of the past generation. The systematic list in itself gives some measure of the scope of the undertaking, for 327 species and varieties are recognized and treated, and of these 40 are described as new. The 105 full page plates give unusually fine halftone illustrations of the shells.

The feature which especially commends this work to the general biolo-

gist is the wealth of information on detailed morphology, ecology, and

general distribution. Faithful microscopic details of genitalia and of

radulae, as furnishing reliable characters for differentiation of the snails, are included in the 299 text figures.

WHAT IS LIFE?, by Augusta Gaskell. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, 1928. 324 pp. Most of the present day concepts of living matter have emphasized

the essential identity of living and lifeless substance and have rather uni-

formly assumed that life is an additional quality super-imposed upon col- loidal solutions of certain groups of chemical compounds to which the name

protoplasm has been applied. In the book under consideration, Mrs. Gas- kell views living matter as a "dual system, an atomic-intraatomic system. The atomic system is material and is the body of the organism; the intra- atomic system is immaterial (i.e., not built on the pattern of the atoms), and is the life of the organism. The two systems are built up of the same ultimate constituents, but on a different pattern." In her concept of living matter, life is a quantity that consists of the same ultimate constituents that constitute the elements, but combined after a different pattern. Conversely, death is the separation of the two systems.

In advancing such a concept of diverse relationships of the ultimate con- stituents of matter, giving origin at the same time to a material body and

118

BOOK REVIEWS

THE FRESH WATER MOLLUSCA OF WISCONSIN, PART I. GASTROPODA; PART II. PELECYPODA, by Frank Collins Baker. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin 70. 1928.

In two volumes totaling more than a thousand pages the Wisconsin Academy has brought forth the most comprehensive piece of work on fresh water mollusca that has appeared for any region on this continent. Frank C. Baker, the author of this monograph, has given a biological ori- entation to his materials which stands in marked contrast with the older conchological contributions of the past generation. The systematic list in itself gives some measure of the scope of the undertaking, for 327 species and varieties are recognized and treated, and of these 40 are described as new. The 105 full page plates give unusually fine halftone illustrations of the shells.

The feature which especially commends this work to the general biolo-

gist is the wealth of information on detailed morphology, ecology, and

general distribution. Faithful microscopic details of genitalia and of

radulae, as furnishing reliable characters for differentiation of the snails, are included in the 299 text figures.

WHAT IS LIFE?, by Augusta Gaskell. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, 1928. 324 pp. Most of the present day concepts of living matter have emphasized

the essential identity of living and lifeless substance and have rather uni-

formly assumed that life is an additional quality super-imposed upon col- loidal solutions of certain groups of chemical compounds to which the name

protoplasm has been applied. In the book under consideration, Mrs. Gas- kell views living matter as a "dual system, an atomic-intraatomic system. The atomic system is material and is the body of the organism; the intra- atomic system is immaterial (i.e., not built on the pattern of the atoms), and is the life of the organism. The two systems are built up of the same ultimate constituents, but on a different pattern." In her concept of living matter, life is a quantity that consists of the same ultimate constituents that constitute the elements, but combined after a different pattern. Conversely, death is the separation of the two systems.

In advancing such a concept of diverse relationships of the ultimate con- stituents of matter, giving origin at the same time to a material body and

118

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REVIEWS REVIEWS

to its accompanying attribute, life, the author has gone into the most re- cently developed concepts of the ultimate nature of matter. To prepare the reader for these concepts, she utilizes the first half of the book in an exposition of modern physical interpretations of the atom as a setting for the pronouncement of her theory. No mention of the author's real con- tribution is made earlier in the book.

In entering a borderline field which aims at harmonizing concepts of pure physics with biological phenomena, the outcome of any investigation rests upon the soundness of the premises around which the deductions are based. Of the validity of the author's concepts in physics, Professor Karl T. Compton in an introductory statement remarks, "her discussion of modern physics is accurate, well balanced and worth reading for its own sake."

This unusually intimate correlation of the physical concepts of matter marks an entirely new chapter in a fresh attempt at an analysis of the problems of the living organism.

LIFE IN INLAND WATERS WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO ANIMALS, by Kathleen E. Carpenter. Macmillan Co., New York, 1928. xviii+267 pages. Most of the writers on the fresh water fauna of continental Europe and

of America have directed primary attention either to aids in the identifi- cation of the species or to systematic materials with incidental treatment of biological facts of habits and life histories. Life in Inland Waters pre- sents a new attack on the subject. Miss Carpenter has brought together a great amount of material dealing exclusively with a biological orientation of the knowledge concerning fresh water animals and their relations to their habitats.

Some of the general problems which have been given direct consideration are the origin of the fresh water fauna, relation of the organism to its en- vironment; reproduction and life history, dispersal and distribution, and conditions of existence in the various aquatic habitats.

For the student not familiar with the particular fauna under con- sideration, the book is so attractively written as to encourage direct, inti- mate study of the field conditions of life. For the advanced student well grounded in a knowledge of taxonomy, this work offers generalizations and a synthesis of the biological aspects of the field that should prove most help- ful in rounding out a survey of the fresh water fauna.

to its accompanying attribute, life, the author has gone into the most re- cently developed concepts of the ultimate nature of matter. To prepare the reader for these concepts, she utilizes the first half of the book in an exposition of modern physical interpretations of the atom as a setting for the pronouncement of her theory. No mention of the author's real con- tribution is made earlier in the book.

In entering a borderline field which aims at harmonizing concepts of pure physics with biological phenomena, the outcome of any investigation rests upon the soundness of the premises around which the deductions are based. Of the validity of the author's concepts in physics, Professor Karl T. Compton in an introductory statement remarks, "her discussion of modern physics is accurate, well balanced and worth reading for its own sake."

This unusually intimate correlation of the physical concepts of matter marks an entirely new chapter in a fresh attempt at an analysis of the problems of the living organism.

LIFE IN INLAND WATERS WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO ANIMALS, by Kathleen E. Carpenter. Macmillan Co., New York, 1928. xviii+267 pages. Most of the writers on the fresh water fauna of continental Europe and

of America have directed primary attention either to aids in the identifi- cation of the species or to systematic materials with incidental treatment of biological facts of habits and life histories. Life in Inland Waters pre- sents a new attack on the subject. Miss Carpenter has brought together a great amount of material dealing exclusively with a biological orientation of the knowledge concerning fresh water animals and their relations to their habitats.

Some of the general problems which have been given direct consideration are the origin of the fresh water fauna, relation of the organism to its en- vironment; reproduction and life history, dispersal and distribution, and conditions of existence in the various aquatic habitats.

For the student not familiar with the particular fauna under con- sideration, the book is so attractively written as to encourage direct, inti- mate study of the field conditions of life. For the advanced student well grounded in a knowledge of taxonomy, this work offers generalizations and a synthesis of the biological aspects of the field that should prove most help- ful in rounding out a survey of the fresh water fauna.

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